Decoding The Mind: How Psychological Factors Shape Investment Decisions Among Employees in India

Behavioural biases highlight the impact of psychological factors in shaping investment choices. This study consists of six key psychological ‎factors, such as overconfidence, herding, availability bias, loss aversion, anchoring, and mental accounting, which influence the investment ‎decision of salaried employees while considering demographic variables as moderators. Primary data were collected from 300 salaried em-‎employees working across banking, educational, and healthcare sectors. Data were analyzed using regression analysis, an independent t-test, ‎and one-way ANOVA. The result shows that herding behaviour, availability bias, and mental accounting significantly influence the invest-‎ment decision, while overconfidence, loss aversion, and anchoring bias do not exhibit substantial effects. Furthermore, only gender differences were found in herding tendencies, with males displaying higher susceptibility than females. These findings show that salaried em-‎employees’ investment decisions are shaped less by rational considerations and more by social influence, easily available information, and ‎mental categorization of money. By decoding the psychological tendencies of employee investment decisions, the research helps policymakers-‎ers, financial advisors, and institutions seeking to promote more informed and rational investment practices‎.